Harlan Lunsford <hlunsford[at]bellsouth.net> wrote:
- quote -

Merchant Mariners usually qualify under the Department of
Transportation Hours of Work limitations, so you can use
the same per diem amounts as for Over The Road truck drivers
or airline pilots.

In time of war, if the president calls up the merchant marine,
they are treated like Department of Defense uniformed personnel,
and if in a combat zone, receive the same tax benefits as other
military service personnel. That has not happened in this
century.

__
Art Kamlet ArtKamlet [at] AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

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Wayne Rivers, CPA wrote:

- quote -

interstate commerce and, regardless of what Kal-e-forn-Ya
may think, they can't tax you for days in California unless
you are a CA resident. Your income is only taxable in your
state of residence.

Next we have the foreign earned income exclusion. It is a
well-settled issue that neither a ship nor an oil rig is a
tax home. So if you are working on a US registered ship,
you may as well establish residence in Texas, Florida, etc.
You will be subject to federal income tax regardless of your
ports of call. I am certain it is possible to conjure up a
scenario where a merchant sailor can establish foreign
residence, but it would be very difficult because unlike the
airline pilot who pulled it off in France, US registered ships
do not pull into foreign ports long enough to meet the blending
into the community aspect.

Now the FEIE for merchant sailors on foreign registered ships:
In a hypothetical situation where a ship is traveling from
Chile to New Zealand to Australia with island stopovers, a US
citizen would be required to establish a residence that would
clearly meet the requirement of the FEIE. This is possible.
But his ship is still not his tax home.

The meals should be a non-issue since it is customary in the
trade.

Dick

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Wayne Rivers, CPA wrote:

- quote -

Chattahoochee River; just too far inland. However......

Have you looked at past years returns for a clue? As an
aside, I have a policy that I will not take on any new
clients without a copy of at least their last year's return
in hand.

How are these guys paid? Are their meals while at sea on
the house for the convenience of the employer? (as if they
had a choice! lol) Maybe while ashore he has to buy his
own meals while in port for several days. Or (grin) maybe
he has his clothes dry cleaned while in Suez. however, I
would suspect that the ship is his tax home. Interesting
situation. Please let us know what's what.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

I'm looking at a new client that work as a merchant mariner
and he tells me there is something his previous tax preparer
did with his ports of call. I can't really find any
guidance on this in my research. Is there something I
should be looking for to do a good tax return for him?

Thanks

Wayne Rivers, CPA

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >